|
Dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus, part of the growing repentance remnant, cleansing as His Bride, getting ready for His soon return as our Bridegroom-----
Colossians 2:19 calls you and me to NOURISH His Body of Christ: " ..holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God." This matches the Word in Ephesians 4:16: " from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
You and I are called with prayers and His Provision to do our share to help nourish His Body. And this ties into yesterday's message from Galatians 6 and the situation with Susan and Deon Hammer:
Galatians 6:7-10 in the Message Version speaks to you and me today, especially in the case of Deon and Susan Hammer:
7-8 Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’sSpirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
9-10 So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.
This National Day of Repentance ministry would not exist today without Deon and Susan Hammer. Susan has put in thousands--thousands-- thousands---of hours over the last six years without proper payment for her time. Deon, as you'll read below from Susan's notes, is disabled from a back injury and can't work. Susan has been unable to find work locally in South Africa for her skill as an IT Specialist and web designer. YES-- in due season they will reap a harvest, having planted in response to God. YES--they are not fatigued doing good!
Susan's account, follows:
1) For some background info – Deon and I started a very small Prophetic Ministry in 2012 – where we gave regular Prophetic School sessions, training people in the prophetic Gift & Ministry, 1 Saturday afternoon a month – while I was still working. But in 2012, Deon’s Depression also hit us hard, and it had been a very challenging year for us – but we pushed through, and with Doctor’s help and lots of medications, things stabilised a bit. But it has been a difficult time ever since. As I had to work to keep our household going. We also held about 3 Prophetic Conferences between 2012 to 2018. But in 2018, Deon started to really struggle with back pain, and eventually went for his first back operation in 2019.
2) The operation was to fuse his last 3 vertebrae from L3 to S1, in the hope that he would then be stable and the pain would be less. And The operation at the time was successful..
3) But, unfortunately also on the day Deon was to be released from his first operation – my dad was rushed to hospital, and 2 weeks later my dad passed away. And in those weeks that followed, I almost collapsed, as I tried to work, plus look after Deon, plus assist my stepmother with all the estate things, arranging the funeral etc. I only saw my dad for about 20 minutes the week before he passed away – and never again – as I couldn’t leave Deon alone at home, he needed my constant assistance, even to go to the bathroom – and I had no one else that was able to assist me. And the company I worked for, couldn’t understand it, and wasn’t in the least bit considerate or willing to assist me, and thus I eventually had to resign, as I was in a terrible emotional state. And I haven’t been able to get a job ever since in South Africa – due to all the South African policies + my age counted against me, etc...
4) I thus started my own little business in Website design in June 2019 – called DSH Web & Graphics Design – and it is through that, that I met Bishop Edward from Malawi – which led me to meet you Ps Jeff, and so I started working with you since beginning 2020, assisting with Websites & Zoom calls, and whatever other Technical work I could help with, etc…plus trying to building my own business up. But then when covid hit in 2020, everything came to a standstill for us in South Africa. And I haven’t really been able to get my business off the ground as I was initially hoping it would go…. It was only working for you Ps Jeff and help building NDR that kept us going through it all.
5) Then also early 2020, Deon started experiencing lots of back pain again, and after a bunch of tests, and just as Lock-down started here by us on 31st March 2020, Deon had to be rushed back to hospital with serious infection in his back, and they had to remove all the screws. But because of Lock-Down, I couldn’t see him, or be with him, till the day he was released. And again, working with everyone in NDR is what kept me going.
6) But the pain continued in his back even after everything was removed – as the last fusion between the vertebrae L5 & S1 didn’t take as it was supposed to… only the 2 vertebrae above did fuse… and thus in July 2021 he went to hospital again – for his 3rd operation – trying to re-do the fusion on the last 2 vertebrae. But during that week (which was still during Covid and thus again, I couldn’t visit him…plus we had the strikes that very same week where people went to the streets to burn every shopping mall down between Pietermaritzburg & Durban) – he started getting seriously bad hallucinations from the Morphine they gave him, and his intestines got lazy, and didn’t want to function anymore – as they gave him waaay too much morphine. He was almost gone that week from Septicemia… – But God step in that Thursday morning in July – and somehow got the Doctors and nurses to allow me to see Deon, and He also came in Himself into the Hospital room, as I was praying for Deon while I Was visiting him that morning. And in that moment I saw a vision, where I just heard the Holy Spirit said to me clearly “Everything is going to turn back to normal from now on !” And as I opened my eyes, Deon looked at me for the first time since I was there, and everything changed in that moment.!! Deon came out of the Hallucinations, and his intestines started working again, and he could eat..etc..and within 24 hours they moved him out from High Care to a normal ward – and that following Tuesday he was released. Which I can only give God all the Glory for that day !!
7) BUT: Yet again, that 3rd operation wasn’t successful either – and the screws came lose in his back again – the very same situation as from his first operation - just with less infection this time, but again the fusion in the last 2 vertebrae didn’t take…. Thus Deon lived with the pain and discomfort till March 2023, where he went for his 4th operation – where the Doctors then built something like a “steel cage-type setup” with the screws to pull the last 2 vertebrae firmly together - operating him from the front and back. I think there is like 8 or 9 screws now in his back together with a steel plate..etc..And basically this can’t ever come out again.
8) Now the good news is – this time the fusion did take this time and the bones joined together as was intended, and the screws are still intact… – But he is still in constant muscle pain – even worse than before – as he is about 90% bed-ridden – can only get up for very short periods, walk a bit, and then he has to lay down again, to rest. Meaning we are just here at home since 2019 already – can’t go anywhere, hardly see anyone, can’t minister out anymore since 2019... The only way we can still reach people, is via Zoom – and in most cases people in South Africa don’t want to join via Zoom anymore – as they now have their normal daily work routines, and thus don’t have the time to be on zoom anymore. And thus the online trainings we’ve tried to do during covid, have all died down. No one is responding anymore. They now prefer to rather attend a meeting again, as life basically went back to normal before Covid.
9) BUT: My problem is also – the funds I’m receiving isn’t enough to properly sustain us, and my inheritance from my dad is now used up. Thus I don’t have anything to fall back on anymore, I can't hire anyone to help, and thus I’m now at a loss, as I now need to run my household myself, plus work, plus still help Deon..etc. I have no assistance, and my finances are a mess – as I basically need $2000 just to cover all my Debit orders every month for the Bond, and Medical Aid, etc. But I now also have some serious Credit card debt of about R90,000+ (about $5000) and I still owe too much on my house, it won’t be beneficial to sell – then I’ll basically lose everything. And besides all that, neither Deon nor myself have the physical strength to actually go through a process of selling and buying another place + move…etc. We are basically now stuck where we are. And things break, and I can’t fix anything. The house needs paint desperately, and lots of structural things need repairs etc… So basically we are in a huuuge mess right now.
10) And then just to mention some last points as to where we are now at present is – end of October last year, Deon again had to be rushed to hospital where they picked up that he has some heart failure, and again, he was almost gone that week. Again God saved him, and brought him back. But he is now struggling with breathing issues also, and gets dizzy very quickly too…on top of all the pain, etc..
11) And then this week – on Monday we’ve seen a physio who specializes in Pain management (whom I discovered just last week via google), as the previous physios we’ve seen had no answers for Deon’s backpain anymore…, and he said that he can help Deon to be able to get some functionality in his muscles back, so he can at least be up and out of bed a bit more, and we will be able to do small things, and go out again, etc…, But it will take about 20 sessions of a R1000 each (about $55 a session) – and he wants it cash – he won’t be claiming it from the Medical aid…. And I just do not have that right now – with everything else we are having to deal with. Deon’s medication is too much already to handle, and our medical aid gets depleted so quickly in the year, and then I have to pay for almost everything myself thereafter. And because I don’t have a proper job, I can’t claim anything back from the Tax, and half of Deon’s medication they don’t want to put on Chronic medication either – there are so many conditions, and his issues are somewhere in-between their requirements – and then they reject the applications…so it is becoming a very expensive trip to the Pharmacy every month.
12) And now the SA Government announced an increase in the VAT % to 16,5% - thus as from 1 April, everything will increase in price also. Our food prices are sky high, and we eat the bare minimum nowadays. Things are just getting overwhelmingly difficult for us. And I need to go for new spectacles also, but there just isn’t enough funds to handle everything anymore. I’m thus putting it off till I just can’t see anymore – so far so good, I can still function with what I have, but I can notice that it needs to be replaced soon…
I just know if it wasn't for God, leading me to NDR back in 2019/2020, I have no idea where we would have been today. Thank you Ps Jeff for always assisting and encouraging us to keep going.
BUT GOD !! 🙏🙏🙏
****************************
Will you to do your share to help the Hammers,
thereby nourishing His Body?
With their approval, I've asked them if we can ask you who have a heart for His Gift of repentance if you will pray to see if you are one of 7 persons:
1) who will pray and intercede regularly for them, or
2) who will follow the example of the 3 women in Luke 8:3 to support them regularly with an amount the Lord places on your heart.
***************************
God bless you, and THANK YOU!
Jeff
Pastor Jeffrey Daly
National Day of Repentance
www.repentday.com
www.americankneels.com
www.globalrepent.com
pastorjeff@repentday.com
Box 246 Middletown CA USA. 95461
| 
